Canadians crossing border to buy banned pesticides

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According to a report by CBS News, a number of Canadian consumers are coming into the United States to purchase pesticides, herbicides and other garden chemicals no longer sold in Canada because of that country’s strict regulations. Others are simply ordering products over the Internet from other countries.

The news report interviewed hardware stores managers in Ogdensburg, N.Y., right across the border from the province of Quebec. Not far from Ogdensburg, the Canadian city of Ottawa has its own set of regulations banning the cosmetic use of garden chemicals, as do six of Canada’s provinces. Most are more restrictive than the federal government’s.

Health Canada recently issued its first-ever advisory about buying pesticides online, prompted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s discovery that 550 Canadians have bought a product from China called Fast Ant Bait, which contains the banned chemical mirex, a highly toxic substance.